How to get half of my flock into new coop?

[Desertbabies]

Hi! First time chicken keeper here, making many mistakes.
I have a mixed flock of 12 (of which 3 turned out to be roos). They’re all between 13-16 weeks. When I first got them, they all fit nicely into the coop (not a “stand up” coop). However, now that they’re getting bigger, I bought a second identical coop and expanded their 10x15 run to twice the size. They are in the run all day and return to their coop on their own at dusk. Tonight was the first night they had the option of a second coop. However, though they explored it a few times during the day, none of them would go in there to sleep. They all filed into their one undersized coop together, and ran from me when I tried luring some of them into the new one. How do I get them into the new coop? They’ve been together their whole life — I can’t even figure out which ones to separate into which coop. (The coop they’ve always lived in is for 8 chickens max — not 12. I figure since I have 3 bantams, 6 to each coop while work out nicely, especially because they only go in it to sleep.) The idea was that they’d naturally split up into the two coops and come out together into the shared run every morning. They’re like “Are you insane, lady? Get away from us, it’s bedtime.” Any ideas?

 

[Percheron chick]

I noticed the coop in your avatar. I'm sorry to say that it's never going to work. Sell the 2 coops and get one large one. It's nearly impossible to separate the flock into 2 groups on their own. They do not like change and will continue to cram into the original coop. One coop can work for the 3 bantams but there is only enough floor space, roosting space, ventilation for 2 adult hens.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I believe you would have to make two separate runs as well, and split the flock according to which hens belong to which rooster. I don't think it's practical to split an existing flock that's bonded and has been sharing a single coop - you'd be breaking up 'families'. As long as they share the same run, they'll share the same coop, too.

Here's a fantastic article written by @Shadrach , a BYC member and researcher who's been studying chickens for decades. I remember him discussing in this article his different "tribes" of chickens and the various coops they roost in (or not). It's long, but well worth the read - and might explain a lot about multi-coop living arrangements:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I agree with both @Percheron chick and @BarnyardChaos 's advice.

However, until you get bigger digs for your birds, you need to know what to do NOW. Separate the birds by hand after dark. It probably doesn't matter which birds you put in Coop B, just grab any six and physically deposit them into the new coop. Because it's dark, they'll stay put. IF you can get the same six every night for a week, they MIGHT start putting themselves to bed in the new coop. Maybe. Maybe not. But for your purposes temporarily, you just need to get the group split up so they have room to sleep without being overcrowded until you can make more permanent arrangements. Good luck!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh, I respectfully disagree with @BarnyardChaos's suggestion that you need to create two separate runs because you have two roosters. You may have to, but it's it's not a given. Watch and see how they get along. That's not very many hens for two roosters. I have 25 hens and two roosters. One is definitely subordinate but they don't fight. The dominant one mates with most of the hens, but he can't possibly watch all the hens all the time, so the junior roo watches for opportunities to sneak an attack in on a willing hen when Big Red is otherwise occupied. If two roosters over-mate your hens, you may have to eliminate one by rehoming or inviting one to dinner. If your girls start losing feathers on their backs and back of their necks, it's time to remove a rooster from the flock.

 

[Desertbabies]

I noticed the coop in your avatar. I'm sorry to say that it's never going to work. Sell the 2 coops and get one large one. It's nearly impossible to separate the flock into 2 groups on their own. They do not like change and will continue to cram into the original coop. One coop can work for the 3 bantams but there is only enough floor space, roosting space, ventilation for 2 adult hens.

Ohhh that is not the coop actually! That was our “brooder coop.” Nonetheless, if you’re saying they are all going to go into one coop regardless, I guess I now have 3 useless coops!

 

[Desertbabies]

I believe you would have to make two separate runs as well, and split the flock according to which hens belong to which rooster. I don't think it's practical to split an existing flock that's bonded and has been sharing a single coop - you'd be breaking up 'families'. As long as they share the same run, they'll share the same coop, too.

Here's a fantastic article written by @Shadrach , a BYC member and researcher who's been studying chickens for decades. I remember him discussing in this article his different "tribes" of chickens and the various coops they roost in (or not). It's long, but well worth the read - and might explain a lot about multi-coop living arrangements:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

Thanks so much for this! Great article.
Ok so the run was expanded yesterday and it’s now 25x15. I left a dividing piece of fence that essentially splits it down the middle, with a small gate that stays open during the day so all have access to both sides of the run. So essentially I could just keep the little gate closed and have two runs I suppose, albeit right next to each other. The issue is, as you say, how to split the tribes. Since they are so young, it’s very difficult to tell which hens belong to which rooster — they’ve not started mating or laying. I’ve got an RIR rooster who clearly rules the entire roost, and then 2 bantam roosters — a Polish who is the very bottom of the pecking order and subservient to the hens, and a silkie rooster who only sticks close to the other little bantam silkie. All the other chickens are full sized.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Oh, I respectfully disagree with @BarnyardChaos's suggestion that you need to create two separate runs because you have two roosters.

Thank you, but that's not what I meant to imply. I meant to suggest that if the OP wants to ensure that birds use both coops, she could completely separate them with a second run; and because hens will bond with a specific rooster, it makes sense (to me) to put a rooster in each coop/run with the hens that have already bonded with him instead of upsetting their family (or "tribal," as Shadrach would say) units.

If she can identify the "tribal" units, I suppose it could still work with one run. But she would have to physically train the groups to use their own separate coops by separating them every night until they do it on their own. On the other hand, would there be more aggression during the day because of the separation at night? Hmmm.... maybe so, maybe not. A separate run would eliminate that possibility, and no training needed.

After sleeping on this conundrum, I agree with others who have suggested just getting a bigger coop. Makes the most sense.

 

[Percheron chick]

Post pictures of the set up.

 

[Mrs. K]

I don't think chickens bond and form tribal units in an enclosure. Shadrach was talking about totally free range birds over a much greater area than a back yard. In an enclosure, you are very apt to get cockfighting, over-mating and abused pullets.

To the OP - do not get rid of all the little coops - they will be perfect for separating your cockerels from the pullets, which in about a month you will want to do. You will be very hard pressed to keep all those rooster chicks.

A picture of your set up would really help. And as AArt says where are you at in a general way also influences advice.

But to solve the immediate problem, I would just go down at dark, after they have roosted, and put half of them in the other coop. It really does not matter which ones, or even the same ones each night, just half of them. Do that for two or three days. Then at near dark, shut the gate with approximately half on one side and half on the other. At least some of them will have spent the night in each coop and the others will follow them in when there is not another option.

Unless you are in the Deep South, without winter, how they use the coop will change with the seasons. The amount of time spent in the coop changes dramatically with the long nights of winter.

Mrs K